Toilet-paper cabinet or fixture.



G. T. JOHNSON.

TOILET PAPER CABINET 0R FIXTURE. APPLIOATIoN FILED JAN. s, 1909.

921,843., A Patented May '18, 1909.

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G. T. JOHNSON.

TOILET PAPER CABINET 0E FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.9, 1909.

921,843. Patented May 18, 1909.

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GEORGE T. JOHNSON, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOILET-PAPER CABINET 0R FIXTURE.

Specification Of Letters Patent.

Application led January 9, 1909.

Patented May 18, 1909.

Serial No. 471,505.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORG-E T. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Melrose, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Toilet-Paper Cabinets or Fixtures, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention finds embodiment in a cabinet or fixture constructed to receive a ackage of toilet-paper composed of a num er of oblong sheets assembled together and bent or folded on a transverse line so that the opposite end-portions are close together, the said cabinet or xture having a delivery-slit adjacent the position of the leading edge of the package, and also being provided with manually-operated means for feeding the sheets singly edgewise in a correspondingly doubled state into the said slit and far enough through the same to enable the outwardly-projecting portion of a sheet to be grasped by hand and the sheet pulled out.

The invention comprises a manually-operated feeder which works within the bend of the package and engages with the inner surface of the innermost sheet, at the bend. Also, inclined guide-walls located at opposite sides of the delivery-slit and converging toward the latter, to guide the respective sideportions of the advancing sheet toward the slit, bring them close together, and facilitate the entrance of the doubled sheet into the slit. Also, a former-block arranged to engage with the rear edge of the package at the bend and press the leading portions of the sheets, at the bend, forward into the space between the converging guide-walls. Also, provisions for causing an edgewise displacement of the side-portions of the package relative to each other so that the marginal portions of a delivered sheet shall lap past each other, at front and rear respectively, thereby increasing materially the width of the folded sheet as delivered. Also, other features to which reference Will be made in the c of the description. i115 A cabinet or fixture embodying the various features which are comprised in the invention is shown in the drawings, in which,.-

Figure 1 is a view of the said cabinet or fixture, and a package of paper therein, in vertical section in the plane indicated by the dotted line 1, 1, of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a view of the said cabinet or xture in elevation, looking from the right in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view in section in the same plane as Fig. 1, but with the cabinet or fixture o ened by swinging back the movable en -piece and the parts in connection therewith, the package of paper being shown in elevation instead of in section as in Fig. 3. Figs. i and 5 are views in horizontal section in the planes indicated by the dotted lines 4, 4, in Fig. 1 and 5, 5, in Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 6 shows a sheet of paper in the shape in which it is delivered from the cabinet or xture.

Having reference to the drawings-Phe opposite side-pieces of the body of the cabinet or fixture are shown at 1, 1, and 2 is the end-piece at the delivery-end, 3 the top of the said body, and 4 the bottom thereof. A movable end-piece is shown at 5, and at 6 is a hinge connecting the said end-piece with the bottom 4. Fig. 1 shows the said movable end-piece in closed position, and in Fig. 3 it is shown swung back to open up the cabinet or iixture.

A package of paper formed of sheets laid together and bent transversely upon itself as already described herein is shown at 7. A securing wire 8 is passed through the end of one side-portion of the package, near the corner thereof, and a similar wire, 8a, is passed through the end of the other `sideportion. After insertion of the package into the cabinet or ixture, the projecting portions of the wires 8, 8a, are engaged with hooks 9, 9a, which are provided upon the sides 1, 1, of the cabinet or xture. By means of such wires, and in conse uence of the engagement of the same with the hooks 9, 9a, the ends of each sheet are detained until the sheet is forcibly pulled forward by hand and thereby torn loose from the wires. Also, when the number of sheets remaining in the cabinet has become small, the opposite side-portions of the said sheets are held extended and thus prevented from collapsing toward the bend of the package.

The delivery-slit in the end-wall 2 is indicated at 10. Its length from one end to the other thereof exceeds that from the bend of the package to the ends of the side-portions of the latter, so that a doubled sheet may pass out through the slit in a fiat state extended at full length. The converging walls at the opposite sides of the said slit are shown at 11, 11. The extent of the spread or divergence of the innermost portions of these walls is suflicient to admit the bent walls 11, 11, and partly fill such space.

portion of a Ysheet readily between them,A

even when the side-portions of the sheet are expanded somewhat widely apart. A former-block is shown at 12, mounted upon the hinged end-piece 5 of the cabinet. When such end-piece is swung away from the body of the cabinet, so as to expose the interior of the latter, a package of paper may readily be inserted with the said body. After the packagey has been inserted, and its wires have been engaged with the hooks 9, 9a, the closing movement of the end-piece 5 carries the shaped portion of the formerblock against the rear edges of the sheets of the package, forcing the said sheets forward and causing their leading edges to enter the il-shaped space between the converging The acting end of the former-block is rounded transversely and so shaped that the bends of the innermost sheets of the package will be pressed forward farthest into the said space.

Vof this particular form.

"with the sheet and advance the latter. I

prefer to employ a covering or pad of indiarubber, but other means of engagement with the sheet may be utilized. Various sheet-feeding devices suitable for use in the present connection are known in the arts, and in some cases may be employed without involving a departure from the general principles of the present invention. The drawings show the frictional portion 14 as a covering in the form of a continuous corrugated band or ring of rubber which may be shifted around from time to time to bring fresh portions of its surface into position for action. For the purpose of actuating the feeder, an

" arm or extension 15 projecting from the the hinged end-piece 5.

block 13 is pivotally engaged with one arm of a lever 16, which latter is mounted pivotally at 17 in connection with a support 18 constituted by two parallel plates carried by The lever 16 is located between such plates, and is covered and shielded thereby. In closing the endpiece 5 against the body of the cabinet after a package has been placed within the latter, the leversupport 18 and lever pass into the narrow space between the two side-portions of the package. Being inclosed between the two plates constituting the lever-support, the lever is protected from contact with the sheets of the package in its movements. The lever-support and: casing con stitute a separator for the two side-portions of the package, which prevents such sideportions fromb crowding in against the feeder so as to interfere with the Working thereof, and thereby also protects the sheets from being torn or accidentally displaced by the movements of the feeder. Also, being in line with the delivery-slit 10 it prevents 'displacement of the package laterally. The

Vside-portions of the innermost sheet rest against thesmooth surfaces of the said leversupport and casing, which facilitates their movement in being advanced and withdrawn.

For convenience in operating the feeder, a projection or handle 19y is provided in ccn-v nection with the lever 1 6. This projection o r handle extends laterally out through curved slot 20 in one. of the plates of the lever-support, and also through a notch shown at 20a, Fig. 5, in the adjacent sidewall of the body of the cabinet. The said slot and notch permit play of the projection or handle in the operation of the lever. A spring 21, which has an end thereof engaged with the forwardly-projecting flange 22v of the end-piece 5, and its other end engaged with projection or. handle 19., holds. thelever and feeder normally in retractedpositions, and acts to retract them after theyT have been, operated to feet a sheet. The pivotal con.- nection of the feeder with its operating lever 16 permits the acting portion of the feeder to press with uniform force, under the influence of gravity or a spring, against the surface of the innermost sheet of the packa e, within. the bend of the latter, and enables. the said feeder to conform tothe thickness of the assemblage of sheetssothat the device acts as efficiently at one time as at another, whether a full package be` contained in the cabinet or a more or less completely eX- hausted one.

To prevent play ofthe feeder sidewise. with relation to the lever 16, the arm 15is. made double, or in twoparalleli members, the latterreceiving between them, the block 13 and being fastened thereto, and the. free extremities of said members` receiving.. be.-n tween them an extremity of*v the lever 156' so as to clasp the latter extremity at opposite sides. The feeder is connected with the. operating lever 16 by means. of a hinge-con.- nection so contrived as toprevent accidental' disconnection ofV the feeder from the lever, and yet permit the lever to. be intentionally disconnected and removed, and' again ap-` plied and connected, freely andl readily, whenever desired, as, for instance, for the purposeof replacing the frietional; covering 14. To this end the extremities of the members of arm 15 areV radially slotted at 2.3 to receive portions` of a pin 24 which project at opposite sides of the` said lever-L The. outer edge of the said extremities. also, are

ymade concentric with a center adjacent the.

inner ends of the said slots. A pin 25 rojects at opposite sides from the lever 16 c ose to the said'outer edges. The positions of the slots in the said members, and of pin 25 upon the lever, are such that in the working positions of the feeder the pin 25 prevents disconnection of arm 15 from pin 24 of the lever.' When, however, the end-piece 5 is turned down into the position occupied by it in Fig. 3, and lever 16 is moved so as to swing its end carrying the pin 24 upward in the said figure, the feeder and arm 15 may be turned around pin 24 until slots 23 are so disposed as to permit arm 15 to be lifted off pin 24 without interference on the part of pin 25. lith the lever in the same or a similar position the feeder may be conveniently and readily applied to the lever.

At 26, 26, are side-pressers, located at opposite sides of the chamber or cavity of the cabinet, and arranged to exert inwardlydirected pressure upon the exterior surfaces of the side-portions of the package adjacent the mouth of the V-shaped space between the converging walls 11, 11. In this instance, the said side-pressers are constituted by springs which are secured to the sidepieces near the rear end of the cabinet and extend forward toward the end-wall 2, the forward ends of the said springs being free to move inward and outward transversely within the said chamber or cavity. The pressure of the side-pressers is applied to those portions of the package which are nearest the mouth of the V-shaped space between the converging walls 11, l1. As a package of paper is inserted into the cabinet it passes in between the said side-pressers. As the number of sheets left in the package diminishes in consequence of the delivery of sheets from the interior of the package, the side-pressers act to press the side-portions of the outer sheets inwardly toward the middle, so as to place them in the best position for entering between the converging walls 11, 11, and passing into the slit 10.

In operation, when the feeder is caused to advance from its normal retracted position shown in Fig. 1, it pushes the bend of the innermost sheet forward so that the leading edge of each sheet at and adjacent the bend is caused to pass through the deliveryslit and protrude far enough to be grasped by hand. The wires 8 and 8a which are engaged with the ends of the side-portions of the package, and also with the hooks 9, 9a, or other retaining devices, hold back the ends of the sheet while the bend is being advanced, the result being that the bend alone, being free to advance, is thrust forward as described. In being fed, the sheet swings more or less about the points of connection with the wires. ln order that this may not result in a crumpling of the rear ortion of the sheet at the bend, I preferably apply the wires to the package at or near the rear corners of the side-portions, as shown, so that when the inner sheet is fed by the action of the feeder in the manner described the bend of the sheet swings upward clear and free from the bends of the next succeeding sheets, entirely across the width of the package.

In order to cause an edgewise displacement of the side-portions of the package with respect to each other, se that, the edgeportions of a sheet shall lap ast each other, at front and rear respective substantially as in the case of the sheet a, Fig. 6', thereby increasing materially the width of the folded sheet as delivered, the hooks 9, 9a, or other retaining devices employed, are offset with relation to each other; that is to say, one thereof is located farther rearward than the other. This produces a kind of twist of the package when the wires 8, 8a, are applied to the retaining devices, the twist and displacement being represented in Fig. 3. In order to increase the extent of this relative displacement without it being necessary to set the hook 9a a considerable extent rearward of the hook 9, which would necessitate making the cabinet larger in the direction from front to rear, the wire 8a is engaged with the corresponding end of the package of paper at a greater distance from the rear corner of such end than the distance from the point at which the wire 8 is engaged with the other end ofthe package to the corresponding corner of the latter.

An advantage of the herein-described cabinet or fixture is the fact that the feeder will push forward only the sheet with which it immediately makes contact. Delivery of two sheets at a time will not occur. Another advantage is that the corner-portion of such sheet which has been caused to protrude through the delivery-slit must be grasped by hand before the feeder is allowed to return otherwise, the feeder will take back the sheet with it, drawing such corner-portion into the cabinet or fixture again. The former-block serves to prevent rearward displacement of the top sheet by the movement of the feeder in returning. When the movable end-piece 5 is swung open into the position occupied by it in Fig. 3, the feeder rests upon the upturned end of the former-block, which presents it in proper position for entering the opening or space between the side-portions of the package when the end-piece is closed into place against the A,body of the cabinet or xture.

I claim as my invention 1. In a toilet-paper cabinet or inxture, in combination, a holdell adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions extended in one direction, and provided with a delivery slit at one edge of such package, anda feeder which works between the` said side-portions and by engagement with the inner surface of the inner sheet within the bend thereof advances the leading edge of; such sheet partly through the said delivery-slit.

L In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combinatiom a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions extended in one direction, and provided with a delivery-slit at one edge of such package, means to detain the end-portions of the sheets, and a feeder which works between the side-portions of the package and by engagement with the inner surface of the inner sheet Within the bend thereof advances the leading edge of such sheet at the bend partly through the said delivery-slit.

3. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions extended in one direction, and provided with a delivery-slit at one edge of such package, engaging devices offset with respect to each other to displace the side-portions of the package edgewise relative to each other, and a feeder which advances a sheet edgewise from said package through the delivery-slit.

4. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions extended in one direction, and provided with a delivery-slit at one edge of such package, engaging devices offset n ith respect to each other to displace the side-portions of the package edgewise relative to eachother, and a feeder whichworks between the side-.portions of the package and by engagement with the inner surface of the inner sheet within the bend thereof advances the leading edge of such sheet at the bend partly through the said delivery-slit.

5. In acabinet or fixture for toilet-paper, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded, package ofpaper with side-portions extending in one direction,l and constructed with` a delivery-slit at one edge ofthe folded package,` engaging means for fastenings or wires in connection with the rear corners of the ends of the side-portions of the package, and a feederworking between the said sidepor-tions and engaging with the inner surface of the inner sheet at the bend' to advance the leading edge ofy such sheet at the bend through the delivery-slit.

6. In a cabinet or fixture for toilet-paper, in combination, a holder adaptedV to contain a folded package with the side-portions of the latter extending in one direction, and` constructzed withy a delivery-slit at one edge of the foldedL package and with. guides converging to the saidl delivery-slit, and a feeder working between the side-.portions of the package and engaging with the inner surf face Qt'thenner sheet. at. the bend to advance the leading edge of such sheet at the bendk through the delivery-slit.

7. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in. combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having bothsideportions thereof extended in one direction, and constructed with a delivery-slit at one edge of the folded package and with guides converging to the said delivery-slit, means to press the package edgewise between the said guides, and a feeder acting upon the, bend of the inner sheet to advance the latter partly through the delivery-slit.

8. In toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions thereof extended in one direction, and constructed with a delivery-slit at one edge of the folded package and with guides converging to the said delivery-slit, means to detain the ends of the side-portions of the package, means to press the bend of the package edgewise between the said guides, and a feeder acting upon the bend of the inner sheet to advance the latter partly through the delivery-slit. Y

9. 1n a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions thereof extending in one direction, and constructed with a delivery-slit in line with themiddle of the thickness of the folded package, and with guides converging to the said delivery-slit, means for advancing the bend of the package between such guides, means for detaining the ends of the side-V portions of the package, and a feeder engaging with the inner sheet at the bend thereof to advance the latter through the deliveryslit.

10. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, aholder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions thereof extending in one direction, and constructed with a delivery-slit in line with the middle of the-thickness of the folded package, a separator between the side-portions of the folded package, and a feeder working within the bend of the package and engaging the inner surface of the inner sheet tov advance the latter through the deliveryslit.

11. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination, a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having the side-portions thereof extending in one direction, and

constructed with a delivery-slit at one edge v folded package of paper having the side-porl tions thereof extending in one direction, and

of the folded package and with the end-Wall i opposite said slit movable, and a se arator constructed with a delivery-slit at one edge 5 and a feeder' which are carried by tie said ofthe package, a separator entering between the said side-portions, a feeder working within the bend of the package and acting upon the inner sheet to advance the latter through the delivery-slit, and an actuating-lever for such feeder supported by the said separator.

13. ln combination, the operating lever, a pivotal-pin carried thereby, a feeder having an arm with radial slot in its end and the extension of such end circularly curved, and the locking-pin on said lever engaging with said curved exterior to keep the feeder-arm locked in pivotal connection with the operating lever when in normal working osition but permitting the arm to be releasedp for disconnection by the turning of the parts into 3 an abnormal relative position.

14. In a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in

combination, a holder adapted to vcontain a folded package of paper with both side-portions thereof extending in one direction, and I constructed with a delivery-slit at one edge movable end-wall and are caused by the movement of the latter into place to enter between the side-portions of the package.

l5. ln a toilet-paper cabinet or fixture, in combination7 a holder adapted to contain a folded package of paper having both sideportions extended in one direction, and provided with a delivery-opening at one edge of such package, a feeder-arm working in the space between such side-portions and having a frictional surface to engage with the inner surface of the inner sheet at the bend, and an operating lever with which said feeder is connected pivotally so that it may press against the said surface.

In testimony whereof l ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE T. JOHNSON.

l/Vitnesses:

CEAS. F. RANDALL, EDITH J. ANDERSON. 

